Store furniture



Jur@ 1o, 1941;

P. as. wlLLlAMs Erm.

- i s'rQRE FURNITURE y Originm Filed Aug. "'7. 19:59

6 Sheets-Sheet 1 Z8 --H g w TT" the. at M June 10,` 1941i P. @WILLIAMSErm. 21,825'4 s'fonE FURNITURE f original Filed Aug. 7, 195e 6sheets-sheet 2 June 10, 1941.` P. G. WILLIAMS ErAL Re 21,825

. s'ron: FURNITURE Original Filed Aug. '7. i939 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 Pwdy.WHams f MM June 10, 1941. P. G.. WILLIAMS ErAL Re. 21,825

6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Jdne 10, 1941. P. G. WILLIAMS Erm. R-A 21,825 v 6Shasta-Sheet 6 /Z Reissued June 10, 1941 STORE FURNITURE Paul G.Williams and Kenneth C. Welch, Grand Rapids, Mich., assignors to GrandRapids Store Equipment Company, Grand Rapids, Mich., a

corporation of Michigan Original No. 2,208,237,1lated July 16, 1940,Serial No. 288,722, August '7, 1939. Application for reissue February19, 1941, Serial No. 379,737

(Cl. S12-156) 17 Claims.

This invention relates to store furniture, particularly to furniture fordepartment stores.

The articles of merchandise which are carried and displayed indepartment stores are of many and variedcharacters and require speciiicholding or carrying devices therefor. The arrangements which may berequired in one store may materially differ from those in another storeand it would seldom occur that two arrangements would be exactlyidentical in two independent stores. This has required a veryconsiderable manufacture of special constructions to fit the needs ofparticular merchants, thus greatly increasing the cost of production. Inthe present invention we have devised a base construction which is thesame in all store installations but which may be very quickly andreadily arranged to fit the particular needs of any merchant for thestock which he ordinarily has. Such base structure may be produced inlarge quantity runs at the factory with the savings which follow from alarge quantity standardized production. The various attachments orauxiliaries which may be selectively used and connected with the basestructure are also produced in quantity'with resultant savings inmanufacturing cost, and for the particular needs of any merchant thereisa large variety of such attachments or auxiliaries which may be used, sothat the number of combinations which can be produced is very large andfrom one of them the needs of substantially any store may be supplied.

In addition with our invention such attachments or auxiliaries which areadapted for selective use with the base structures are assembledtherewith or connected thereto in a manner which permits their removaland replacement by other of the auxiliary structures, whereby once theystore is supplied with the base structure of a merchandising case orcabinet, it may thereafter, if the desire or need arises, be veryquickly changed over by removing the attachments or auxiliaries in wholeor in part which have Ibeen used, replacing them with others. By ourinvention thereis attained a great flexibility in the fixtures which maybe supplied to merchants, an enormous number of arrangements and designsare possible and the needs of the merchants in any and all types ofstores from the smallest to the largest are readily supplied, togetherwith an ability to substantially make over the fixtures after they havebeen installed and used in a store, into others to serve other purposes,such making over being at relatively little additional expense.Furthermore, the initial expense of production is greatly reduced, themanufacture of the parts is standardized, large runs of the standardparts through the factory are had, thus reducing the cost of manufactureand to the buyer, both for initial equipment and for further vequipmentwhich may be required from time to time. And when further equipment ispurchased, it frequently happens that the merchant will want to rebuildor rearrange the old equipment which he has on hand and this canbeaccomplished also at a minimum of expense.

To these ends and to many others not at this time specically enumerated,We have made the invention herein disclosed, which may be understoodfrom the following description, taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a vertical section through the fundamental or base cabinetcarcass structure of our invention, having applied thereto variousauxiliaries or attachments to complete the fixture for use in a store.

, Fig. 2 is a horizontal section through the lower part of the case orcabinet shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary enlarged horizontal section on the same plane asFig. 2, at one side of the case.

Fig. Ba'is a similar horizontal section at the opposite side.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary enlarged vertical section similar to that shownin Fig. 1, showing in more detail the attachment or auxiliary which isused for supplying drop-doors of a disappearing type between shelvesvand at the front.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary enlarged horizontal section, substantially onthe plane of line 5 5 of Fig. 4', looking downwardly.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary vertical section at right angles to that shownin Fig. 5 and showing the mounting means used in elevation.

Fig. 'l is a perspective view of a" shelf supporting bracket used withour invention.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary longitudinal vertical section through a metalchannel, a plurality of which are used the full length ofthe verticalsides of the cab-inet and housed or embedded'therein.

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of a case in accordance with our invention,the lower portion of which `is equipped with drawers, the upper partwith shelves and at the front of the upper part any auxiliary attachmentin the form of a sliding glass door frame provided, which frame isdetachably and removably secured in place at the front of the case andof the shelves.

Fig. l0 is a perspective view of the drawer carr rying frame which maybe made in a plurality of standard sizes to carry a number of verticalrows of drawers and which is readily insertible in the base constructionof the case or cabinet at desired positions therein.

Fig l1 is a fragmentary vertical section and side elevation, showing themanner in which horizontally disposed angle bars for carrying the drawersections or other similar auxiliaries may be adjustab-ly mounted on aside of the case or cab-inet.

Fig. 12 is a fragmentary horizontal section illustrating theconstruction at each end of said horizontal bar for detachablyconnecting it with the supporting channels.

Fig. 13 is a fragmentary vertical section at right angles to Fig. 12,showing the structure at each end of the supporting bar and its man-Vner' of detachable connection.

Fig. 14 is a vertical section similar to Fig. 1, with the baseconstruction of case or cabinet shown as supplied with differentauxiliaries, such as drawers in the lower part thereof and a detachablegarment supporting rod at the upper part.

Fig. 15 is a fragmentary horizontal section taken at the upper part ofthe case on the plane of line I5`I`5 of Fig. 14, looking downwardly asindicated.

Fig. 16 is a section similar to Fig. l2, illustrating the manner ofdetachable connection of the elements which support the ends of saidgarment carrying rod. Fig. 17 is a fragmentary vertical sectionsubstantially on the plane of line II--II of Fig. 15, looking in thedirection indicated by the arrows.

Fig. 18 is a front elevation showing the fundamental or base cabinetstructure of our invention, having located therein one of manyindependent unit auxiliaries which may be directly inserted thereintoand removed therefrom to ll either the entire space or selected portionsof the entire space therein, and

Fig. 19 is a horizontal section therethrough.

Like reference characters refer to like parts in the different figuresof the drawings.

The structure which is shown in the drawings as embodying our invention,has as its fundamental and basic element a cabinet carcass which has ahorizontal bottom I, a horizontal top 2, a back 3, and spaced apartparallel vertical ends 4, the front being open. In each of the ends 4 aplurality of metal channels, generally indicated at 5, are inserted ingrooves cut vertically at the inner sides of and extending the fullheight of said sides 4. The channels 5 are each made from an elongatedstrip of sheet metal bent longitudinally into a U-shaped bend midwaybetween its side edges to provide two narrowly spaced sides 6, each ofwhich at its outer edge is turned outwardly in a short flange 1. Thesides E, as shown in Fig. 8, have tongues 8 struck inwardly, those atone side extending downwardly and inwardly at an acute angle to thevertical, and those at the other side upwardly and inwardly and comingagainst and contacting the tongues struck from the opposite side. 'Ihesetongues are thus formed in cooperating pairs and such pairs of tonguesare preferably equally vertically spaced from each other the full lengthof the channel members 5. In the length of a channel member there are avery large number of such cooperating pairs of lugs or tongues, thedistance from one pair to another being relatively small. yThe ends 4 ofthe case or cabinet are readily provided with grooves routed out thereinfor the reception of the channel members which are received within thegrooves or are securely held therein; and it is also contemplated thatthe ilanges 1 may be received in shallow longitudinal recesses cut atthe inner sides of the ends 4 for such purpose, as shown in Figs. 3 and5, though as the thickness of the metal from which the channels 5 aremade is small, the construction is operable and serves its purposes eventhough the terminal flanges 1 are brought against the inner sides of theends 4 and are not positioned with their outer sides flush with theinner sides of said Yends 4 of the cabinet carcass, as shown.

It will be noted that one of the channel members 5 is located relativelyclose to and parallels the free vertical edge of each end 4 of thecabinet and that another is located adjacent to and parallels the backof the cabinet. Between said front and rear vertical channel members,one or more additional channel members 5 are to be used which preferablywill be equally spaced from each other and from the iront and rearchannels. One of such intermediate channel members is shown in Fig. 1,b-ut it is apparent that the number of intermediate channels may beincreased if the depth of the cabinet carcass is increased. In practiceit is' contemplated that there may be a number of standard sizes ofcabinet carcasses. For example one having the same depth but of lesserheight than shown in Fig. 1, and others having the same height andlesser height than in Fig. 1, but of greater depth. But in any event thenumber of standard sizeswill be relatively small, usually therewill bemore than three standard heights, or perhaps not more than two.

Bracket members to support shelves, as shown in Fig. 7, are provided,each made from a single section of sheet metal having a vertical portion9, at the upper end of which a horizontal ledge I Il is turned at rightangles. From a vertical edge of the part 9 a section II is turned atright angles extending in an opposite direction to the ledge I0, itslower edge lying in the same plane with the lower edge of the part 9, asshown. At its inner upper corner it terminates in a vertical iinger I2.Said bracket members, any desired number of them, may be insertedbetween the sides 6 of the channels, the iingers I2 hooking back ofpairs of the contacting cooperating tongues 8, with the lower edges ofthe sections II resting upon the tongues 8 next below. The section 9will lie against the inner side of the adjacent end 4 and the ledge I0extending horizontally therefrom. As shown in Figs. 1 and 4, with suchsupports connected to the several channels 5 at spaced apart verticalintervals and with front, rear and intermediate supports in horizontalalinement, shelves I3 may be placed upon the horizontal ledges IU and becarried thereon. In many cases, where shelves alone are used, and nofront closure structure is used, they shelves may be spaced differentvertical distances apart inasmuch as the very large number of thecooperating supporting tongues 8 permits a very large selection ofplaces at which shelves are to be located.

'I'he spaces between the shelves I3 may be closed by glass doors I4, thebody of the glass being held in metallic border strips I5 (Fig. 5). Withour invention these glass doors are adapted to be detachably mountedupon fixtures which in turn may be connected to the front channels 5.

At the ends of the doors and between their edges a bracket I6 isspot-welded or otherwise secured to themetal border strip at each end ofthe glass, having ay leg extending rearwardly on which a roller I1 ismounted. The roller I'I is movable lengthwise of a channel guide I8'positioned vertically and which, at its upper portion, is curved in thearc of a circle at I9 and contained as a horizontal channel guide 2D.The horizontal po-rtion 20` of the channel guide for the roller Il hasits upper flange welded or riveted or equivalently permanently securedto the lower ange of a second and horizontal channel guide 2l, The doorat each end. and near its upper edge carries a roller 22 which rollerstraverse the horizontal channels 2|. In connecting the door mountingfixture consisting of the channel guides described, a plurality ofbrackets 23 are used having. outwardly extending fingers 24 at theirinner ends and upper corners substantially identical. in structure withthe section I I and the ringer I2 of the previously described shelfsupports, and these are hooked in place, as in Fig. 6, resting upon. alower pair of tongues 8 and hooked behind the next adjacent higher pairof tongues. The channel `guides for the door :are then located in placeand screws 25 (Figs. 5 and 6) pass through the outer ends of the plates.23 and into the rear flanges of the vertical channel sections I8, as inFig. 5. Two of these supporting plates 23 are indicated in Fig. 4, butof course the' number may be increased if desired.

The supporting and guiding structure for the rollers Il :and 22 of adoor has connected therewith to the front flange of each channel guideI8 a channel 25, the open side of which is'presented toward the end 4 ofthe cabinet. A thin metal gasket of brass, copper, aluminum or thelike,of the form best shown in Fig'.` 5, has its rear section welded to therear flange of channel 26k and extends forward and is formed into anishing loop 28 which, when the fixture is connected to the cabinet, ispressed. against a finishing front'l post or cornice 29 connected at thefront edge of each end 4, the looped portions 28 providing nishinggaskets which disguise the joints and presents an attractive appearance.The length of the channel 2B varies. The attachment for carrying thedoors is made up for carrying either one, two or three doors, so thatthe length of the channel 26 will be correspondingly multiples of one,two or three times a single length for a single door. The front end ofthe upper guide channels 2'I` reach to the front flange of the verticalchannel 26, the rear channel and the web being cut away to permit this.With Athedoor carrying structure in the three standard forms, foreitherY one, two or three doors, yany desired arrangement or number ofdoors which are to be supplied, for example four as shown in Fig. l; isreadily accomplished. At the rear ends of the upper guide chanels 2I astop block 3D is put, `and; if it seems desirable, a screw may be passedthrough this block and through the web of the channel 2| and driven intothe adjacent end 4; or the screwv may be driven through the web of the'channel near its rear end at other places than through the block.

With this construction the disappearing glass drop-doors in front of thespaces between the shelves i3 land between the upper shelf and the topmay be opened and closed. It is of course evident that a removal of thedoorsv and their mountings is easily accomplished ifat any time thatpart of' the cabinet\whch is'cl-osed at the front by the dropdisappearing doors is to be re- *i support horizontal shelves.

arrangedas may happen. at times when a merchant revamps his store.

At the lower part of Fig. l, and at the upper part of Fig. 9, a frame isshown for carrying sliding glass doors 3l. The frame includes upper andlower channel yguides and tracks 32 and the lower tracks may carryanti-friction balls or the like for ease of movement of the doors. Thevertical sides 33 and 33a are of a double channel form with the channelsoppositely positioned, as best shown in Fig'. 3 and occupy the samerelative positions with respectto the ends 4 of the case adjacent whichlocated, as do the two connected channels I8 and 26 of the previouslydescribed mounting for the drop disappearing: doors I 4, and there isused the same thin metal gasket and iinish member 21 with the loop 28 atits free forward edge to disguise the joint and present a finished andattractive appearance (see Fig. 3). For the opposite side 33a, where theZ-bar side is reversed in position, the gasket 21a is attached as shownin Fig. 3a, that is, to the rear side of the central section of theZ-b-ar and thence alongside the web of the forward section thereof andturned into a loop 28a, presenting the same appearance at the jointbetween such side of the frame and the adjacent iinishing pilaster 29 atthe forward end and at the end 4 of the oase. The connection of thesliding glass door frame to the ver'- tical channel 5 is identical withthat used in connecting the mountings for lthe drop disappearing doorspreviously described. That is, plates 23 with upwardly extendingfingers` 24 at their inner ends are inserted in the proper places in thechannels and the frame vertical members 33 and 33a areconnected byscrews 25, as shown in Fig. 3. Removal of the screws permits adetachment of the frame andthe sliding glass: doors therein if thecabinet is to be altered or the position of the sliding glassdoorschanged,v from one'part of the and may be associated with many differentarrangements of shelving either open or closed by drop doors or with`drawers, a. wide range of arrangements being possible.`

In Fig. 11 a horizontalangle bar 34 with verl tical and horizontal legsis provided at each end of the vertical leg with an extension IIa turnedat right angles, said extension having a finger I2a at its upper innercornerportion. Such parts Ilaand` I2a are identical with the section I Iand nnger I2'v of the supporting bracket structure shownv in-Fig; *1.vThe bars 34 may be applied'to each end of the case at theinner sidethereof with said end'secticns Il I a and fingers I2a thereon received'between the sides 6 of the front and rear vertical channels 5, andengaging with the lugs 8 struck inwardly from the sides E of saidchannels in thel same manner as previously described and as fullyillustrated in Fig. 13. v

The horizontalangle bars 34 may beused to In practice they are used toAsupport. drawer section frames, for example such as illustratedin Fig.l0'. The drawer section frames inciude vertical end plates 35 of flatmetal withv inturned upper and lower anges; with intermediate partitions36r between them carcass.

which may be one or more in` number. At the lower sides of the drawerframe section at both front and rear are connecting cross bars 31 fromedof sheet metal, as shown, and tie bars 38 of flat metal extendhorizontally across between the e-nds and over the flanged upper edge ofthe upper partition plate 3E. Angle bars 39 are used to connect theintermediate partition members with other horizontal cross bars 31located above the lowermost cross bars, all the parts being spot-Weldedtogether and thereby making a strong frame into which sliding drawersmay be inserted. The frames for receiving the drawers may also be of asmall number of standard heights. The lengths are such that they arereadily inserted between the spaced apart ends 4 of the cabinet carcass.In certain cases a frame may rest upon the bottom l of such carcass, asin Fig. 14, and in other cases where the drawer section is to bedisposed between the upper and lower ends of the cab-inet it may becarried at its ends by the bars 34. And of course these drawer receivingframes may be stacked one on top of another to any desired height withinthe limits prescribed by the height of the carcass.

In Fig. 14 the lower portion of the cabinet carcass below a shelf |3a,whichl in this case may be of wood instead of glass as shown by theshelves I3 in Fig. 1, is occupied with drawers 40. The upper part of thecabinet is open at the front, making a space particularly adapted forthe reception of garments. The garments are carried on garment hangerswhich are suspended from a rod extending lengthwise between the ends 4.Bars 4| have welded thereto plates 23 with fingers 24 of substantiallythe same strucrtureas that shown in Fig. 6, which plates with fingersare adapted to be inserted between the sides 6 of the front and rearchannel members at any desired height. The horizontal rod 42 from whichthe garment hangers are hung is slotted at its opposite front and rearsides and rthe metal of the central -portion of the bar is cut away atthe upper part thereof, as shown in Fig. 17. so that the rod may be slidinto place at each end and interlocked with said bars, which may belocated at a selected place or places in the height of the cabinet andof the metal channels which support them. In cases where the lower partof the cabinet is partially filled, for example by drawers as in Fig. 14or with any of the other auxiliaries, it is easy to locate the rod at alower positions-in the case of short garments if it seems desirable.

In Figs. 18 and 19 the cabinet carcass is of a lesser height than shownin Figs. 1 and 14, but whether the cabinet is of such lesser height oris of full height, the space therein may receive auxiliaries, each initself being a self-contained unit. As shown, the unit which is showncomprises an open frame having vertical ends 43, a lower side 44 and anupper side 45 with spaced vertical partitions 41 extending between theupper and lower sides. Said partitions are horizontally grooved atspaced apart distances in both sides and the inner sides of fthe ends 43are correspondingly grooved, permitting the 'slidable insertion ofshelves 41 which preferably are of glass. though they may be of anysuitable material. Such unit may be inserted into the When inserted inthe lower part thereof it would rest upon the bottom I. But at a higherpoint within the cabinet carcass it would be supported at each end andat its lower side by bars such as indicated at 34 or by the supportsshown in Fig. '1 located at the proper positions. The self-containedunit which is shown in Figs. 18 and 19 is one only of a very largenumber and variety of such units that may be used.

From the foregoing it is apparent that a very meritorious improvement instore furniture has been produced. The cabinet carcass which in itsessentials consists of a bottom, top, back and Vertical ends and open atits front side, and with at least front and rear vertical channels likethose at 5, housed and received within the grooves at the inner sides ofthe ends, may, with the great variety of auxiliaries, some of which havebeen described, be converted into merchandise holding cabinets of manyand varied characters and designs. Also it can be very easily utilizedto make an open front adjustable shelving unit, either for the whole ofits height or for a part thereof. If with changing demands formerchandise the store when ift is initially-equipped with the storefurniture of our invention needs rearrangement for greater capacity forcertain merchandise for which there has become a greater demand, and aless capacity for other merchandise in which the demand has fallen off,rthe rearrangement is easily accomplished. And when a store has beenequipped initially in part of its space with structures of ourinvention, to add other furniture of our invention thereto, with theusual requirement that the initial store furniture shall be rearrangedto carry merchandise in a different manner, is also very quickly andreadily accomplished without damage or any detrimental eifect upon thatfurniture which was first bought and installed. The quantity productionof the cabinet carcasses in the first instance, and of the severalauxiliaries which go with it, is a very valuable feature of the presentinvention. Quantity production means a much lower cost of manufactureand a lower price to the buyer. The cabinet carcass in the severalstandard heights and depths, if the circumstances c'all for differentdepths, may be built ahead in considerable amounts, and the same is truewith respect to the attachments or auxiliaries which go therewith. Thenfor the needs of any merchant, rthe proper auxiliaries and attachmentsmay be selected for location at the different places in the height ofthe carcass and the need of any merchant, irrespective of the size ofhis store, can be supplied.

It will be noted that the channels 5 which receive the shelf supportingbrackets are located in the respective ends of the case and that theyare customarily viewed angularly through the kfront of the case and thetongues 8, being located a consi-derable distance inwardly cannot beseen from that position. The flanges 1 are the only parts which areordinarily visible and these may be brightly polished and appear asbright double vertical strips which add to the design land appearance ofthe case rather than detracting from it and at ithe same time perform.their mechanical function perfectly.

The invention is defined in the appended claims and is to be consideredcomprehensive of all forms of structure coming within their scope.

We claim:

1. In a construction of the class described, a cabinet having a bottom,top, and vertical ends, and a plurality of elongated supports havingspaced parallel sides embedded at the inner sides of each end, the depthof the space between said sides of the supports being greatly in excessof the width thereof, one ,of said supports being adjacent the frontedge of each end and one adjacent the rear edge thereof, said supportsat their outer portions being substantially flush with the inner sidesof said ends and each in l' its length having a consecutive series ofvertically spaced supporting elements located across the space betweenits sides.

2. In a construction of the class described, a

cabinet having a bottom, top, and vertical ends,-

and a plurality of supports, each having spaced apart sides embedded insaid ends at the inner sides thereof with a narrow space between thesides, the depth of which is greatly in excess of its width, saidsupports extending vertically between the top and bottom of the cabinet,the outer edge portions of said supports being substantially iiush withthe inner sides of the ends of the cabinet and a plurality of verticallyspaced supporting elements carried by and between the sides of saidVertical supports, and extending across the space between said sides,one of said vertical supports being located adjacent the front edge ofeach of said ends of the cabinet.

3. In a construction of the class described, a cabinet carcasscomprising, a substantially horizontal bottom and top, and spaced apartvertical ends and a vertical support of sheet metal bent longitudinallyinto U-shape form embedded in each of said ends of the support adjacentits front edge and extending between the top and bottom of the cabinet,the closed end of said U-shaped support being within the body of the endof the cabinet, and the open side thereof substantially ush with theinner side of the end of the cabinet, each of said supports having thesides thereof spaced a narrow distance from each other with the spacebetween the sides having a depth greatly in excess of its width andmeans carried .by and disposed across between the sides of said U-shapedsupport and a distance back of the open side thereof and at a pluralityof spaced apart points in the length thereof upon which brackets may becarried at selected positions in the length of the support, asspecified.

4. In a construction of the class described, a cabinet carcasscomprising a substantially hori- Zontal bottom and top, and spacedvertical ends, an elongated vertical support embedded one in each ofsaid ends at the inner side thereof having its outer edge portionssubstantially flush with the inner sides of the end on which mounted,said elongated support being located between the top and bottom of thecabinet, an open frame having doors mounted therein located between thefront edge portions of the cabinet, a plurality of vertically spacedapart supporting plates engaging with selected supporting elements onsaid supports and extending into the cabinet, and detachable meansconnecting said plates to said frame.

5. In a construction of the class described, a cabinet carcasscomprising, a substantially horizontal bottom and top, and spaced apartvertical ends, and front, rear and intermediate vertical supportsembedded in each end of the cabinet at the inner side thereof, saidvertical supports substantially paralleling each other and each havingclosely spaced apart sides, the outer edges of which are substantiallyflush with the inner sides of the ends of the supports with whichassociated, the depth of the space between said sides of each supportgreatly exceeding its width and a plurality of verticallyspaced-supporting elements carried by and between the sides of eachsupport in the length thereof at an appreciable distance from the innersides of said ends whereby they are invisible when viewed through saidfront opening, as specified.

6. In a, construction of the class described, a cabinet carcasscomprising a bottom, a top, and spaced apart substantially verticalends, an elongated vertical support embedded in each end of the cabinetat the inner side thereof substantially parallel to and a short distanceback of the front edge of each side, said elongated support havingspaced apart parallel sides, the outer edge portions of which aresubstantially flush with the inner side of the end of the cabinet towhich connected, a plurality of vertically spaced supportingy elementscarried on said supports between the sides thereof, brackets connectedthereto at selected points in the length of the supports and a doorcarrying iixtune detachably connected with the brackets at each end ofthe support, combined with a disappearing dropk door mounted on andbetween said door carrying fixtures.

7. In a construction of the class described, a cabinet carcass includinga bottom, top, and spaced apart substantially vertical ends, anelongated vertical. support embedded in each end of the cabinet at theinner side thereof substantially parallel to anda short distance back ofthe front edge of each side, said support having spaced apart parallelsides, the outer edge portions of which are substantially flush with theinner side of the end of the cabinet to which connected, a plurality ofvertically spaced supporting elements carried by said supports betweenthe sides thereof, brackets connected thereto at selected points in thelength of the supports, an open door frame having vertical ends insideof and parallel to said vertical supports detachably connected to saidbrackets, and flexible gasket members connected at the outer sides ofthe vertical ends of said frame and having free forward edges formedinto filling gaskets to disguise the joint between the ends of the openframe and the ends of said cabinet.

8. In a construction of the class described, a cabinet carcasscomprising a substantially horizontal bottom and top and spaced apartvertical ends, a vertical support embedded in each end of the cabinet atthe inner side and near the front edge of each end, said verticalsupports having spaced apart parallel sides located closely adjacenteach other, the outer edge portionsof which are substantially ush withthe inner sides of the ends of the supports with which connected, apluralityv of vertically spaced supporting elements carried by andbetween the sides of each support in the length thereof, bracket membersinserted between the sides of the supports detachably connected withselected supporting elements on the support and extending into thecabinet away from the adjacent inner sides of the ends of the cabinet,and an open frame in which closure doors may be mounted connected withsaid projecting portions of the brackets and lying in front thereof.

9. In a construction of the class described, a cabinet having a bottom,top and vertical ends, a plurality of elongated supports embedded at theinner sides of each end, one adjacent the front edge of each end and oneadjacent the rear edge thereof', said supportsl having parallel sidesspaced e short distance from each other, the depth of the space betweensaid sides greatly exceeding its width, supporting elements carried byand between the sides of said supports in spaced apart vertical relationto each other and positioned a distance inward from the inner sides ofthe ends of the cabinet greater than the width of the space between thesides of the supports, and members of ilat metal having portions locatedin vertical planes which extend into said vvertical supports between thesides thereof and between adjacent supporting elements and project intothe cabinet beyond the inner sides of the ends thereof, as specified.

10. In combination, a case having a back, ends and a front opening,shelf supporting channels embedded in said ends and opening toward the`interior o-f the case whereby they are viewed angularly through thefront opening, vertically spaced lugs extending between the sides ofsaid channels and located lan appreciable distance inward from theopenings of the channels whereby they are invisible when the channelsare viewed angularly and shelf supporting brackets having hookedportions insertible into said channels and hooked over the lugs therein.

11. In a construction of the class described, a cabinet carcassincluding, a bottom, top, and spaced apart substantially vertical ends,an elongated vertical support embedded in each end of the cabinet at theinner side thereof substantially parallel to and a short distance backof the front edge of each side, said support having closely spaced apartparallel sides,.the outer edge portions of which are substantially flushwith the inner side of the end of the cabinet in which embedded, aplurality of vertically spaced supporting elements carried by saidsupports between the sides thereof, brackets having vertical flat metalportions inserted between the sides of the support and connected toselected supporting elements, and a substantially rectangular open doorframe having vertical ends and upper and lower horizontal cross membersdetachably connected to said brackets.

1,2. In a construction of the class described, a cabinet carcassincluding a substantially horizontal bottom and top and spaced apartsubstantially vertical ends, an elongated vertical support embedded ineach end of the cabinet at the inner side thereof substantially parallelto and a short distance back of the front edge of each side, saidsupports each having parallel sides spaced apart a short distance, thedepth of the space between the sides greatly exceeding the distancebetween said sides of the support, a plurality of vertically spacedsupporting elements carried by said supports between the sides thereof,brackets detachably connecting with selected supporting elements in thelength of the supports, said brackets having flat portions located invertical planes extending into the space between the sides of saidvertical supports, and a substantially rectangular open door framehaving vertical ends substantially parallel to and lying within thefront edge portions of the ends of said cabinet carcass connected tosaid brackets.

13. A cabinet carcass having spaced apart vertical ends and open at itsfront side, elongated vertical supports at each end of the cabinet, onelocated adjacent the front edge of each end -of the cabinet and othersrearwardly thereof and in substantially parallel relation thereto, eachof said supports comprising closely spaced flat sides of metal, thedepth of the space between the sides of the support greatly exceedingits width, vertically spaced supporting elements on said supports, saidsupports being embedded in the ends of the cabinet and the supportingelements thereon being located between the inner and outer sides of saidends of the cabinet, whereby the space'within the cabinet is free of anyinwardly extending p-arts, means for mounting shelves upon and betweenthe supports carried by the opposite ends of the cabinet and meanscomprising flat plates located in vertical planes inserted at selectedportions in the height of the cabinet for detachably mounting doorcarrying fixtures upon the frontmost supports, whereby the interiorspace of the cabinet may be wholly or partially equipped with shelves,or with independent units receivable within and between the ends of thecabinet, and whereby selected portions at the front of the cabinet maybe left either open or closed by doors, and any and all doors or shelvesremoved therefrom, as specined.

14. In a construction of the class described, a cabinet having a bottom,top and vertical ends, each of said ends at its inner side having aplurality of spaced, parallel, verti-cal narrow slots therein, thedepths of which greatly exceeds their widths, vertically spacedhorizontal supporting elements between the sides of the slots located anappreciable distance inwardly from the openings of said slots wherebythey are invisible when the inner sides of the ends of the cabinet areviewed angularly from the front of the cabinet, and detachable andinterchangeable fixtures adjustably mounted within the cabinet and onthe ends thereof, said xtures having flat vertical bracket portionshaving thicknesses slightly less than the narrow widths of said slots,said bracket portions extending into the slots between and detachablyengaging with selected supporting elements and held thereby againstupward or downward movements or outward bodily movement in a directionat right angles to the ends of the cabinet.

15. In a construction of the class described, a cabinet having a bottom,top and vertical ends, each of said ends at its vertical inner sidehaving a plurality of spaced narrow vertical slots therein extendingpartially through the ends of the cabinet and having openings at theinner sides thereof, vertically spaced horizontal supporting elementsbetween the sides of the slots located at an appreciable distanceinwardly from the openings of said slots, whereby they are invisiblewhen the inner sides of said cabinet are viewed angularly from the frontof the cabinet, and detachable and interchangeable fixtures adjustablymounted on said ends of the cabinet, said fixtures having flat bracketportions in vertical planes and extending into said slots and havingmeans to detachably engage with said supporting elements, the verticaldimensions of said flat bracket portions being greatly in excess oftheir thicknesses and being slightly less. in thickness than the widthsof the slots so as to be freely received therein, adjacent surfaces ofthe sides of the slots and of the vertical bracket portions being inclose proximity to each other, for the purposes specified.

16. In a construction of the class described, a cabinet having a bottom,top and vertical ends, each of said ends at its inner side having aplurality of narrow vertical parallel slots therein spaced from eachother, vertically spaced horizontal supporting elements between thesides of the slots located an appreciable distance inwardly and betweenthe bottoms of said slots and the openings thereof, said slots in depthbeing greatly in excess of their widths and extending from the innersides of the ends of the cabinet partially therethrough, detachable andinterchangeable fixtures having inwardly extending vertically positionedflat bracket portions inserted into said slots, said flat verticalportions of the bracket members being provided with means to engage withselected horizontal supporting elements and resting at their lower edgesupon the supporting elements next below.

17. In a construction of the class described, a cabinet having a bottom,top and vertical ends,

each of said ends at its inner side having a plurality of spacedparallel vertical narrow slots therein, the depths of which greatlyexceed their widths, said slots being of less depth than the thicknessof the ends, vertically spaced horizontal supporting elements betweenthe sides of the slots located between the bottoms of said slots and theopenings thereof and detachable and interchangeable fixtures adjustablyand interchangeably mounted on said ends of the cabinet at the innersides thereof having flat vertical portions extending into said slotsand detachably connecting with selected supporting elements, as specied.

PAUL G. WILLIAMS.

KENNETH C. WELCH.

